Posts Tagged ‘Craig Newmark’

NCVS Panel: Finding the ROI in Social Media

Thursday, July 15th, 2010
by Chris Noble

“Can nonprofits measure Return on Investment (ROI) for their social media activities?” asks Marcia Bullard, former CEO of USA WEEKEND.

This next part in our series from the National Conference on Volunteering and Service (NCVS) focuses on determining ROI,  one of the most talked about issues in our community today.  As more nonprofits are engaging in social media, and as budgets continue to be tight in the current economy, it’s a natural question.  How do we know this stuff is working?  Can we even measure it?

I’m going to take some of the suspense out of it for you.  These guys say you can.  In fact, Paul Gillin gives you a road map in the first three minutes:

1. Know the lifetime value of a donor / volunteer – when someone supports your organization, what’s the average $ per year the give, and how many years do they stay with you?  $ multiplied by years, and there’s your lifetime value.

2. Start keeping records now – Use historical data from physical events: how many attended, how many gave, what totals were raised?  If you have already run online fundraisers, so much the better.  If you’re running your first, keep track of how visits turn into donors.

3. Do the math – now that you’re keeping track, measure how many new volunteers or donors have come from online activities.  What % of your Facebook fans have shown up in the real world at an event?  What % of your Twitter followers have donated?  What are the actual numbers – how many people have acted.  Multiply # of people taking action by your average lifetime $, and you know how much your organization stands to bring in from a particular online (or offline) effort.

Watch the video for more from Paul, and for additional comments on the same topic by , , , and .  In all, a valuable primer on understanding the return on your social media investment.  Take a look!

from on .

To see part one in this series, click here.

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Posted in Equip, News & Links, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteer Recruitment, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 1 Comment »

Mobilizing Volunteers with Social Media

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

by Chris Noble – Originally published on What Gives and republished here with the author’s permission.

There’s a lot of “activity” in social media.  More people are embracing social networks every day, and more organizations are using social channels to reach their audience. But in all this “activity”, is there any real action?  How can nonprofits and others use social media to mobilize volunteers and get things done in the real world?

That’s the question put to a panel of social media luminaries at NCVS, the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, held by HandsOn Network and Points of Light in New York City a few weeks back.  Maybe “luminaries” isn’t exactly the right word… how about superstars?  These folks have been on the front lines where social media meets social change:

, who headed up President Obama’s social media strategy and action in 2008, now Founder and Creative Director of Blue State Digital.

, Founder of Craigslist, who’s been championing social media as a way to make government more accessible, accountable and efficient.

, Co-founder and Chairman of , who has his own social venture launching in the fall.

, who, as Manager of Public Policy Communications handles some of the tougher policy and community organizing issues for on a daily basis.

We’ve got lots of coverage coming your way from NCVS over the coming weeks, including more from this group and fifth panel member, social media marketing strategist , as well as individual interviews with an incredible range of activists, CEOs, authors, and other leaders in the nonprofit space.  This segment is a great start, because these guys have some solid advice for nonprofit organizers based on real-world experience.

Not only valuable content, but actually fun to watch.  Joe does a great job describing why you should treat volunteers like gold, and how to do so in a social framework. There’s also a great analogy in there for those of you who need to explain to your parents why all this “social media stuff” is relevant to social change – just go to Craig’s Gutenberg/ Luther shtick about 5 minutes in – I’ve used it 5 or 6 times since hearing it.

Enjoy!

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Posted in Equip, Service, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteer Management, Volunteering, Volunteerism | 5 Comments »

Service Nerd Fantasy Panel Discussion

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010

While regular people play Fantasy Football, Service Nerds (like me) play Fantasy Panel Discussion.

This is Joe Rospars.

He’s been my Service Nerd Fantasy Panel Discussion TOP PICK since I read Lessons from Obama: Lessons for Online Communicators in 2009 and Beyond.

Rospars was the new media team director for the Obama Campaign and, regardless of your politics, you’ve got to hand it to the man… brilliant!

I was so piqued by the report that I insisted that our CEO, Michelle Nunn read it.

[Which may have been a tactical error because now she wants me to BE Joe Rospars and that might be a bit difficult because...

...the road from Service Nerd to Digital Genius is long.]

If I could, I’d ply Joe Rospars with exotic and tasty tapas and delicious, tiny cakes until he was powerless to resist answering my questions. Then,

“Joe,” I’d say “tell me how the online strategies you used to engage citizens in the Obama campaign could be re-purposed to mobilize millions of volunteers to take action on our nations most pressing social challenges.”

Joe, under my tasty morsel spell, would reveal all his secrets to me and I would achieve:


The Service Nerd Fantasy Panel Discussion would also include Jack Dorsey, who is to what the Big Bang is to evolution.

Throw in Craig Newmark, the man behind the list. (You know, Craig’s List.)

Toss in Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers and Andrew Noyes of Facebook and…

Check out my Service Nerd Fantasy Panel line up.

Rospars — Dorsey– Newmark — Gillin — Noyes

Now if there’s one thing I learned (from my other fantasy about being a problem like Maria), it’s that you .

And Diana Ross taught me that there .

So my trusty partner, Ranit from CNCS, and I drafted a series of highly persuasive letters inviting the Fantasy Panel All Star Line up to our annual conference and had them signed by the big bosses.

And guess what?

You can LIVE THE DREAM with me because they all accepted the invitation and they’ll all be there!

And I feel less like a Service Nerd and more like a Service Nerd SUPERSTAR!

The Social Media For Social Good Panel will take place on Tuesday, June 29th from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. EST in New York City at The National Conference on Volunteering and Service.

Register now and join me there.

If you want to submit questions for the panelists, leave a comment.

And the next time you have a Service Nerd Dream of your own… don’t stop believing.

Follow the Social Media for Social Good Panelists online:

Joe Rospars ; Jack Dorsey ; Craig Newmark ; Paul Gillin ; Andrew Noyes ; And if you’re really feeling it… Service Nerd:

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Posted in Equip, Inspire, Mobilize, News & Links, Social Media, Tools You Can Use, Volunteerism | 24 Comments »